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young of Swainsoni, differ altogether in plumage from the adult 
females, (while those of Cyaneus closely resemble that of the 
old females of that species,) and have the whole under parts 
uniform, streakless, rufous buff, or rufous. Moreover, the facis, 
if | may use the expression, of the females of the Hen, and pale- 
chested Harrier, are as a rule very different to the eye, al- 
though it may not be easy to explain the difference in words. 
In both, there is a large yellowish white patch, below the eye, 
purest in the pale-chested Harrier, and below this, from the base 
of the lower mandible, reaching to, and enveloping the whole of 
the ear coverts, there is a broad dark band, contrasting more or 
less with the pale patch below the eye, above, and the pale 
throat below. Now inthe Hen Harrier, the contrast is generally 
much less marked than in the other, because the eye patch is not 
so white, and because the feathers of the band are only a pale 
dull rufous, with narrow, commonly very narrow central brown 
streaks, giving the band a streaky, or striated appearance, while 
in the pale-chested Harrier, the contrast is usually very marked, 
the eye patch is often pure white, and the feathers of the dark 
band, are deep brown, only very narrowly margined, with ru- 
fous, which margins, are insufficient, unless the patch be looked 
closely into, to break the general uniformity of the colour.—As 
for the difference commonly pointed out, v/z., that the female of 
Swainsoni has six brown bands, and that of Cyaneus four, (Bree,) 
on the tail, it holds good in many eases, but I do not find it con- 
stant ; I have now before me two Hen Harriers, one from Eng- 
land, and the other from Mussouree, each with six brown bars, 
including the one nearly hidden by the upper tail coverts, and 
two pale chested Harriers, with only five such bars, similarly 
including the one nearly hidden by the coverts. 
The tarsus of the Hen Harrier doubtless averages consider- 
ably more than that of the pale-chested one, while as I shall 
notice further, that of Montague’s Harrier is so much shorter, 
that this alone suffices to separate it from all our other Indian 
species. Another apparently constant difference between the 
Hen Harrier and the pale-chested Harrier in both sexes, and 
at all ages, when the wings are perfect, is that in the former, the 
fourth quill is always the longest, whilein the latter, the fourth 
quill is always shorter than the third, often by fully half an 
inch. 
